Prey

At the plant, Jack learns that the company has been manufacturing nanoparticles, machines too small to see, and that a cloud of them has escaped into the desert. The swarm reproduces itself, learns from experience and behaves like a predator, partly because it was programmed with code that Jack's own team once wrote to imitate the behaviour of animals hunting in packs. As the swarm grows more intelligent, the small group of scientists at the plant is in real danger.

Crichton fills the story with clear explanations of nanotechnology, artificial life and computer programming, as well as warnings about corporate secrecy and scientific arrogance. The pace is relentless, especially in the second half, as Jack and the others try to destroy the swarm before it spreads. The characters are thinner than the ideas, as often in Crichton's books. There are some frightening and violent scenes, but they are not graphic.

Fast, frightening and full of ideas, a classic Crichton page-turner. Readers who enjoyed Jurassic Park or The Andromeda Strain will find a similar mix of science and suspense, with the story's questions about technology still feeling relevant. About 384 pages in the Harper paperback.